POLICE have launched a rape investigation after reports a woman was attacked.

A call was received at approximately 12.15 am on Saturday saying the woman has been attacked near River Walk in Witham.

The incident is thought to have happened roughly 20 minutes before the call was made.

The victim has been safeguarded and is now being supported by specially trained police officers.

No arrests have been made at this stage of the investigation.

Det Chief Insp Greg Wood urged anyone with information to get in touch as soon as possible and assured people living nearby his team would work tirelessly to find the perpetrators.

He said: “We are in the very early stages of our enquiries and would like to ask that any information which could help us is passed to our team of detectives as soon as possible.

“This incident will clearly cause alarm and concern among residents.

“I have a dedicated team of detectives working exclusively on this investigation and we will do everything we can to support the victim and try to identify who is responsible for this attack.

“We would like to reassure the community that as soon as we have further details about the circumstances of the incident, we will share these.”

Residents can expect to see the cordon in place in Armond Road and River Walk for the rest of the day.

There will also be an increased police presence in Witham in a bid to provide reassurance to residents and to further the investigation.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident 17 of 21/07/2018 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.